Top 10 Submission Statistics & More From UFC MMA Events

Here at MMA121 we track all submission finishes in all UFC events so that we can provide a definitive list of the most effective and best submissions in top level MMA competition. Here you can see what submissions are most common and frequently used in Mixed Martial Arts with statistics for each of the top 10 submissions.

Total Submission Count For Each UFC Event Year On Year – For any year this allows you to see how many submissions were achieved on an event by event basis

Submissions Per Fight Ratio For Each UFC Event Year On Year – The submissions per fight ratio allows us to consistently measure how often a submission is being achieved, this is shown as a percentage of the total fights so for example if there are 10 fights in an event and there is 1 submission then the submission per fight ratio is 10%. Obviously the best submissions like the Rear Naked Choke have the higher overall percentages

Overall Submission Breakdown For All Time – This shows the best submissions as a percentage of all submissions achieved in all UFC events

Regardless of what year you look at in the statistics it’s very clear that there are three levels of submissions. Tier one makes up more than 80% of all the submission finishes and includes a set of 5 core submissions

The final tier is that of all the remaining submissions outside of the top 10 submissions and collectively they make up just a few percent of all the submissions used in MMA competition today. Within that tier there are submissions like the Ankle Lock, North South Chokes and Brabo Chokes.

Individual statistics are not calculated on the more unorthodox or rare submissions outside of the top 10 submissions as the contribution they make to the numbers is so low that it is not particularly meaningful. However, every submission is noted and recorded even if it doesn’t feature in the top 10.

Submission Breakdown, Total Submissions And Submissions Per Fight Ratio For Each Year – This shows the top submission statistics for each year so that you can see how the statistics have changed over time. Use the links below to see individual year statistics

Total Submissions And Submissions Per Fight Ratio For Each Of The Top Ten Submissions Year On Year- In this section we show how each of the most effective and best submissions have performed over time both in terms of total submissions achieved and in terms of submissions per fight ratio